Automatic record-shifting mechanism for phonographs.



EPE.BROMUS. AUTOMAHC RECORD smrnwe MECHANISM FOR PHONOGBIAPHS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR- 20, 191B Patentedl May 21,1918.

'3 SHEETS-SHEET I m JNVENTOR E. E. BROSIUS. AUTOMATIG RECORD SHIFTING MECHANISM FOR PHONOGRAPHS.

APPLICATION FILED mmzo. 1911.

Patented May 21,1918.

3 SHEEIS-SHEET 2.

635%. gm 1 m E. E. saosrus. AUTOMATIC RECORD SHIFTING MECHANISM FOR PHONOGRAPHS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.20, l9l7- Patented May 21,1918.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3,

lmvsm-ron a 1%. axams wmymm A 9&6 011113.

WITNESSES weaver..-

v were sfra'rns rnrnnr ()FFTCE.-

:nbeann. niaosrus, or, r'lr'r'snunegn, rnnnsvnvama.

v automa ic niaconn-snrrrnve mncnaursrr iron. rnonoenarns. I

" To all whom it may concern.-

. this specificatibm'in which- Fill 'Figure 1 is a lan view showing apho nograph equippe with my invention;

Fig. 1 withtherecord-shifting arm swung to another position;

Fig. 3 isa detailsectional' view; Figs. 4. and 5 are, respectively, amp and a front elevation of the slot plate;

- Fig. 6 is asectional elevation showing the solenoid and its connections for raising the needle; p Fig.7 is a detail sectional view showing a portion of the record holder or magazine and the ick-up magnet; i

Fig. 8 1s a bottom plan'view of the lower pick-up magnet; g

Fig. 9 is a wiringdiagrar'n'; a Fig. 10 is a partial plan view of one of the records. My invention has relation to mechanism for automatically shifting phonograph, and is designed" to provide a simple mechanism of this character by means of which a phonograph may be caused to play a plurality of records in succession.

without the necessity for manual attention. My invention also provides mechanism of this character which is readily adapted to I invention is appliexisting machines' M cable to all phonograp type.

The nature understood by ing drawings preferred will now however,that various changes can be made in the s of thedisk record from the spirit and scope of l im f In these drawings, the numeral {2, designates the top ortion of aphonograph'caa ing, 3 the revo ving record-carrying disla or Specification of Letters Patent.v Application filed llttaroh to, row.

- the Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation of the same [in Fi 3) the records bein Fig. 3zis a section on the line llllT-TTT o I .6 of the bracket 6 forms a su 1 tachable holder for the playe records as they are moved out Loosely journa'led on the post 7 is a friction therecords of a another magnet having its core portion withinthe solenoid j g 16, as shown at 18. The pin 15is ord is held in the raised magnets, it will enter the central hole of the record,

of my invention will be hestf reference to the accompanyin which ll havefshown';the embodiment thereof, and which. be described, it being premised',

- solenoids.

.tor' fc'ase of aigspring-driven machine, may be ,derivedig f tom a battery.

details of construction and arrange. ment; 'of the several parts, without departing y' v nt eeas Aerial No. 156,029.

support, and 4 the swinging reproducing arm having the reproduce-r 5 pivotally connected thereto. These parts may be, in general, of the usual form.

The numeral 6 designates a two-sinned bracket which may be rigidly but detachably secured to the frame 2. by means of 0st 7, secured bythe'nut 8. One arm 6 0 -this bracket forms a support or magazine holder for a plurality of unplayed records A. It is preferably provi ed with a centering pin 9, for the records and with a spring-pressed follower 10' (as best shown directly sup porte upon this follower. he other arm port ordeof playing position.

wheel 11,

iPate'ntedlt/Tay $1, 191%.; V

whose per phery is infrictional contact. with the. periphery of the disk? This friction wheel is constantly driven I at its lower end which rests in contact with the upper surface of the disk 1 11. The sleeve 12 carries at its upper portion a horizontally extending record-shifting arm 14, which at 1ts outward extremityis'providedwith 2. depending guidepin 15. v Rigidly secured to the armaround. this guide a pin is a magnetlfi of the solenoid type. 17 I 17? extended upwardly magnet made of sufficient length that when a recand thus center the same...

The numeral 19 designates a driving mo- .tor of any suitable or usual type for the The numeral 1 21 ndicates a lever arm .whichisirigidl%securedto the shank ofthe reproduce'r 5. v war'dly at one side of the reproducer arm 4,

hislev'er' arm extends b ckand is adapted to travel upon a slot plate 22, securedto the t p '2 of the phonograph.

while the phonograph is in operation. 12 .is a sleeve which is also loosely journaled on the post 7, andwhich carries a disk 13, frictional position bythe 16 and '17 is most conveniently" 45 to provide each record with The plate 22 has therein the vertical slot 23, i whose wall 24 is formed with an incline 25 at its lower portion. The lower portion of the slot 23 communicateswith the oblique slot 26, having the oblique upper wall 27, terminating in the horizontal portion 28. Beyond this horiozntal portion are the two oblique slots 29 and 30, which open through the top surface of the plate. 31 designates a solenoid whose core 32 extends upwardly through the frame portion 2 and also through the slot23 of the slot plate, the latterha the offset 23? therefor. At its upper extension terminates in thehook 33.

Thejend portion of the lever arm 21 and the hookportion 33, just described, con'sti tute electric contacts for the purpose hereinafter described. In order .to further control the circuit of the magnets16 and 17, I

provide the disk 13 with a contact which maybe of the form shown in Fig. 9, and which has a continuous rim ortion 34 and a semicircular extension 35, ormed with the. break 36. The brush or contact 37 engages the continuous rim portion 34, and another f contact 38 engages the extension 35. As the circuits are arranged in 9, the contact .38 is connected with one side of the supply circuit for the motor 19, and the brush 37 is connected to the other side of such circuit, through the windings ofthe magnets 16 and 17 e The winding of the solenoid 31 is also arranged to be connected in series withthe windings of the magnets 16 and 17 when the contact is made between the arm 21 and a radial slot or groove the hook 33, as shown in Fig. 9. The movable core member 32 of the solenoid 31'is provlded with a weighted arm, as shown at: 39. The lower face of the magnet 17 has 40 formed therein, as shown in Flg. 8, the purpose of. this being presently described. I

In the use of my invention, it is necessary a central port1on or plug 41, of magnetic material. I.

also preferably provide each record (see Fig. 10) with a leading-in groove 42 for directing the needle into the first active groove of the record, and

with a leading-out groove 7 43, for carrying the needle out of the last active groove of the record to a point which will be at the same distance from the center of the record with all records.

v The operation is as follows: A pluralit of the records to be played are placed in the holder or magazine for unplayed' records.

' record has been The first-record to be played may beeither transferred. from the magazine or. it may be placed by hand upon the disk 3. The latter operation will be assumed. When thisv played, the reproducer 5 will, by the leading-out groove 43, have been moved to the position shown in full lines in .Fig. I. At this time,'the end of the lever arm 21 comes underneath the hook 33, which closes the electric circuit for the magnets 16, 17 and 31. The energization of the magnet 31 causes it to pull 1ts core downwardly, the hook 33 thereby pulling the end portion of the arm 21 downwardly through the slot 23 and on to the inclined wall 25.

As the arm 21 is drawn down on to this inclined wall 25, it will be thereby moved to the right (looking at Figs. 2 and 5) and caused to be disengaged from the hook 33.

The pulling down? of the arm- 21 will rock.

the reproducer 5 upwardlyon its pivot to the position shown in full lines in Fig. 6, and the weight of this reproducer will hold the end of the arm 21 in contact with the oblique slot wall 27. This slot wall acts as a cam under the weight of the reproducer to cause the reproducer and its arm 4 to swing to the position shown in dotted lines,

in'Fig. 1. This dotted position is approximately, that required in order to commence playing the ten-inch record, so far as the dis- E-tance of the needle with respect to the center of the disk 3 is concerned. The reproducer'willbe left in this position 'with the end of the arm 21 in engagement with the straight portion .28 of the slot 25 until a new record isbrought into place.

While each disk is being played, the con tact 38 will be on the break 36 of the contact portion 35, so that the magnets 16 and" l both magnet 17 and the record ofi' from" the centering pin. The arm 14 is now free to turn and commences to rotate under the driving action of the friction wheel or disk 11. As soon as the friction wheel or disk 11 begins to turn, the contact 38 will be actively engaged with the contact ortion 35, 'to

thereby maintain the energlzation of the magnets 16 and 17 after their circuit has 'been broken by the disengagement of the hook 33 from the arm 21. This disen age 'melnt' deenergizes the magnet 31, an .the

counterweight 39 raises the book 33 to its initial position. The arm 14 commences to turn and moves until its end is approximately over the center of the holder for played records. By this time, the contact 38 passes off from the end of the contact portion 35 and deenergizes the magnets 16 and 17. ,The record is now dropped upon the holder. ;1.'.'....1..;-- a; in'

' of the magazine centering pin of any residualmagnetism, the said holder 6?, may be provided with ,the'wipers 44. .The arm 14 now continues its rotation untiljits j outer end reaches a position over thecent'er for unplayed records."'

When this position is reached, the contact- 38' again engages the contact portion and reenergizes the magnets 16 and 1 7.- The uppermost record in the magazme is there-,

by attracted andlifted from the pin 9. It is for the purpose of accurately centering the record with 'respect'to the pin 9 that T;

in the bottom face of provide the roove This groove will engagethe the magnet 1 stopped with its central opening inexact registry At this time,

the centering pm ofthedisk 3, and as this position is reached, thecontaet 38 passes on to the break 36 of the contact portion 35. the deenergization of the magnets 16 and17 will causethe record-t0 be dropped into engagement with the pin,!

and the magnet 17 will also be engaged with said pin to prevent further 'movement' of the arm 14 during the playing 'of this record. I i

As the new record is'thus brought into playing position, its edge strikes the needle and movesthe reproducer farther away from the center of the record. If therecord is a ten-inch record, the reproducer will he moved untilthe end portion of the arm 21 the slot 29 ofthe slot is in registry with plate. The weight of the reproducer will then .move the arm upwardly through the slot 29 and thus lower the needle into playing position, place. If the record is a twelve-inch record, the reproducer will be moved stilllfarther outwardly until the end of the .arm 21 is in line with the slot 30 when the needle will be lowered. During this movement the arm will not move upwardly into the slot 29, because the record has not yet been dropped on the centering pin and will, therefore, hold up the member 5. Furthermore, the arm 21 is movedquickly past the narrow mouth of the reversely inclined slot 29.

While itmay not be necessary to provide the records with the leading-in grooves 42,

prefer to provide such grooves in order toinsure a proper playing engagement with the needle of each record.

. In order to insure the accurate centering of the records with respect to the centering pin of the record carrier of the phonegraph, 1 may provide a positive stop for stopping the arm 14 at the proper posiure the r'ecordls and insure the records being I with this pin. The continued move-3 ment of the arm 14'carries this record -over records being successively as the record is dropped to "shown in Figs. 3 and 3. It consists of an arm 45, which. is rigidly secured to the upper end of the post 7 and which extends laterally to a point above the central portion of the record carrier 3. Pivoted to the end of this arm is a cam-shaped pawl 46 capable of a swingingmovement limitedby the pin 47' and slot 48. '49 designates apin having "a "IF-head 50, at its lower end and engaging slots in the centering pin 15 and in the up- '-ward core extension 17 of the magnet 17.

As each recordis brought over the carrier 3, the magnet 17 is, of course, in its lifted position, and.- thereby raises the pin 49. into positionto en age the pawl 46 in the mannershown in *ig. 3, thereby stopping the arm at this'point. When the magnets 16 and 17 are deenergized, the pin 49 drops back into the position shown in Fig. 3, and the pawl 46swings by gravity to a position such that when the magnets are again energized to pick up the played record, the pin 49 will escape said pawl, and the armwill be free to move around with the played record. While this device will not be necessary in all cases, it insures the exact centering ofthe records as they are for each record which is placed in the magazine ,for un'played records, the played removed and the unplayed records being successively brought ,into' playing position. Y o

The advantages of my invention will be apparent, since 1t provldes a very simple, comparatively inexpensive mechanism which can be readily adapted to existing phonographs and by means of which a plurality of records can be successively played without the necessity for manual interference. The moving arts are few in number and of a character not likely to get out of order. Care should, of course, be taken to properly insulate the electrical connections, these, however, being few in number and simple in character.

I claim:

1. The combination with a phonogra h having arotating risk record carrier, 0 a holder for unplayed records, another holder for played records, a member mounted to move in a circular path above said carrier and holders, and means carried by said mem her for engaging and lifting the records, and automatic means for controlling the engagement and disengagement of said means with and from the record, substantially as described.

' 2. Record-shifting mechanism for phonographs, comprising a movable shifting member, a record-lifting magnet carried thereby and movable therewith, and means controlled by movable parts of the phonograph for actuating said'member and for controlling the will circuit of said magnet, substantially as described. n

' 3. Record-shifting mechanism for phonographs, comprising a record-shifting member movable in a circular path, a holder for unplayed records, another holder for played records, both holders being arranged below holder f 'for played records, a sh ft 'movable carrier for said ma substantially as vmounted to move in a said carrier, a a mounted on said member,

stantia y as described.

and adjacent to .the path of travel of said arm, a record-lifting magnet carried by said arm, an actuating connection between said member and a constantly mo phonograph, and means control movement of said member and ed. b the circuit of said magnet, substantially as described.

. 4. Record-shifting mechanism for phonographs, comprising a shifting 'magnet, a ct, and means for energizing and deenergizmg said magnet at the proper times to pick up and release the records substantially as described.

5. Record-shifting mechanism for phono graphs, comprising a record shifting magnet, a carrier for said magnet movable in a circular path, an' actuatin connection between the carrier and a movab e part of the phonograph, means whereby the carrier is held stationary while a record is'being played, and means controlled by the phonograph parts and by .the movement of the carrier for controlling the circuit of said magnet,

described. 6. The

holder for played records, a' shifting member circular path above record-shifting magnet and another magnet also'mounted on the member and arranged to lift .the first named magnet, to: 'gether with means for automatica-ly controllin the circuits of said magnets, sub- 7 The combination with a phonogra h having-a rotating disk record 7 or unplayed records,-another holder ing member mounted to move in a circular path above ed on said member,

said carrier, a record-lifting ma ed on said member,-andmeans centering saidmagnet with respect. to the holder orv unplayed records, substantially as'described; I

8. The combination with a' phonogra h having a rotating dis record carrier, 0?:1 holder for unplayed records, another holder a shifting member et mountor properly said carrier, a record-lifting magnet mountand means for centerin said member and magnet with res ect to sai record carrier, substantially as ascribed.-

phonogra h. carrier, 0 a

9. Thecombination with-a for played records, a recor said art of the the p ono- 7 carrier, 0 a

holder for unplayed records another holder shifting member mounted to move in above said carrier, 9. tween said member rier,

connection beand the said cara record-lifting magnet mounted on member and means for'automatically controlling the circuit of said magnet, together with means for holding said member and'magnet in a stationary position while a record scribed.

10. The combination with a phonogradph having a rotating disk record carrier an a centerin pin, of a horizontally movable record-s 'fting member, a vertically movable record-liftin magnet, another magnet for lifting the, first named magnet, means for automatically controlling the circuit of said magnets, and stop means controlled by the first named magnet for stopping said member in proper position with reference to the centering pin of the phonograph, substantially as described. j 11. In record-shifting mechanism for phonographs, a horizontally movable recordshiftin'g member, a record-lifting magnet carried by said member, another magnet also carried by said member and arranged to lift the first named magnet, and means for automatically controlling the circuits of said a magnets, substantially as described. combination with a phonogra h having-a rotatin 'disk record carrier, 0 a: for-unplayed records, another holder centering device arranged to coact with said pin, substantiallilas described.

13. In record 'fting mechanism for, phonographs, the combination with a horizontallg movable record shifting member, and a shi ing magnet carried thereby, of a magazine for unplayed records located below the path of movement of said member'and ma net, said magazine having an upw y ressed support for the records whereby the atter are automatically raised intothe plane of action of the magnet; substantially as described.

7 14. Recordhifting nogra h's, comprising able 'ftin member, net carried aereby, another magnet for H ing the first named magnet, means for automatically controlling the circuits of said magnets, and means carried by said member or centering a record when lifted by said magnets, substantially as described.

15. In record shiftin mechanism for pho- .a horizontally mova record-lifting mafgrecord shift magnet and an en circuit for 8 2% ma ct, of circuit dosing means operated by e movement of the rea circular path is being played, substantially as de-' g mechanism for pho nographs, the combination with a movable a and for partially controlling the circuit of the record-shifting magnet; substantially as j producer arm of the phonograph to close the circuit of said magnet when a record has been played; substantially as dewribed.

16. In record shifting mechanism forpho: nographs, the combination of a movable record shifting magnet, a stylus shifting magnet, the two magnets having related energizing circuits, and means controlled by the movement of the stylus carrier for controlling the circuit of the stylus shifting magnet described.

17. A. composition phonograph record having a portion of magnetic material adapted to cooperate with a record shiftingmagnet, substantially as described.

18. A composition phonograph record having a central portion of magnetic ma terial adapted to cooperate with a record shifting magnet, v 19. The combination with a phonograph,

- portions,

substantially as described.

of disk records therefor having magnetic portions, a magnet-arranged to attract said records and .holdthem while being moved mto and out of playing position, an energizing circuit for said magnet, means for moving said magnet/to transfer the records, and means for controlling the circuits of said magnets; substantially as described.

20. The combination with a phonograph, of disk records therefor having magnetic a magnet arranged to attract said records and hold them while being moved into and out'of playing position, an energizing circuit for said magnet, means for moving said magnet to transfer the records, and

means for controllin the circuits of said I magnets, together wit stylus shifting mechan sm. forming a part of such means; substantially as described.

t In, testimony whereof, I have hereunto set m hand.

dy lElDG E. BROSlUUS. 

